Wall



Feb. 7, 192s. 1,658,154

W. J. ARMBRUSTER WALL Original Filed Sept. 20, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I v i Feb. 7, 192s. 1,658,154

. W. J. ARMBRUSTER WALL original Filed sept. 2o, 1925 g sheetysheet 2 labor for erection of any extensive Patented Feb. 7, 1928.

Y UNITED STATES WILLIAM J. AnMBRUsrEaor sfr. LoUIs, MISSOURI.

WALL.

Original application filed September 20, 1923, Serial No. 663,823. Divided and this application filed February 9, 1925.

Myinvention has relation to improvements in a wall for buildings of all kinds, also trestles, dams, levees, locks, chimneys, towers, reservoirs, defenses, fences, and wherever a strong, incombustible wall is desired. The advantage of a wall constructed under this system is that it can be erected rapidly, and requires very little equipment in erection whether for molds or studding, and does not waste any lumber or re uire alse work as in the usual re-enforced concrete construction, no lumber being cut or nailed for molds or forinwork, but very little being used, and it can be repeatedly re-used. Further, the system lends itself tor the use of various kinds of raw materials, and, in many instances, instead of Portland cement, other materials can be used, such as puozzolani, volcanic tufa, hydraulic lime, calcined gypsum, or plaster of Paris, lime mortar, and even plastic clays, or other earth,

with or without coarse material such as sand,

gravel, pebbles, crushed rock, broken brick, shells, cinders, etc. The value and strength of the wall will, of course, depend upon the character of the materials and manner of construction. Its adaptability for the use of such a varied amountof materials makes it applicable to many and various districts or regions.

lty may be stated that in general this wall consists of a'plurality of metal standards spaced apart a suitable distance, said stand ards'being grooved or flanged on the side extending in the direction of the line of wall, tie rods extending between the standards or between and through ythe standards, and a filling'A between the standards of Portland cement concrete or other material, and

tonguing into the grooves of the standardsl and held by the fianges of the standards as well as the reinforcing rods, forming an intimate, well bound section of wall.

The. met-hod of construction in general consists in setting up a series or plurality of standards grooved or flanged as stated, spaced apart at suitable distances, inserting horizontal tie rods through the standards, clamping or otherwise holding mold boards or plates to the standards, and Filling in between the mold boards with concrete or Serial No. 7,882.

other material. The present application contains no claims directed to the method, as these form the subject of my copending application, Serial N o. 663,823 ofrwhich the present case is a division.V`

In thisway valuable gains are made over either the usual structural steel frame or the re-enforced concrete -methods of construction, as walls of greater stability and strength are obtained with a lesser amount of material. In the structural steel frame building, stability and resistance to tearing apart of the walls is dependent on the shear ing strength of the rivets and material at the `junction of the beams at the floor levels or planes, whereas the illing in thewalls between the steel members is merely ay great burden on f the .frame structure. In this method great strength is gained for stability and resistance to tearing apart of the buildingl by the tie rods intervening between the floor planes, particularly in the cross-walls. At the junction of the floor kplanes with the walls in the usual re-enforced concrete methods of construction', the tying of the rods is ineiicient as it consists inv lightly holding them in place with thin tie wires, or merely laying them over each other and constituting a great weakness or source of carelessness, whereas in this method this feature is of great strength. Against buckling inwardly of the partition walls, in both the other methods the partition walls are mere fillings which easily fall out in the case of movement of the buildings such as in, earth-quakes, or during fires, whereas in this method the cross-walls add greatly to the strength of the building, tying the longitudinal walls togethery latitudinally between the floor planes as well as at the ioor planes. Very thin walls can be built under the present method, yet have great stability andresistance to tearing apart or bucklin Structural steel beams may also be used,

as in the usual structural steel building, forA joining the standards at the floor levels, and the tying rods used in addition to the same between the floor levels, or the use of beams may be entirely eliminated in some cases, and only the tie rods used. lThe metal and material in this manner is better distributed, while much ofthe metal can be yusedin the vcc cheaper shapes such as tie rods, much less skilled labor is required, and in addition the metal standards in this system are used as permanent standards for the support of the mold boards or forms during erection ot the structure, which lends itself thereby to rapidity of construction. Further advantages will be better apparent from a detailed description of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a fragment of my improved wall in the course of construction, with the clamps for the top mold boards still in place; Fig. 2 lis a top ypla-n ot thesectionof wall shown in Fig. 1; Fig.

3 is a vertical cross-section through the wall taken on the line 3- 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. l is a horizontal cross-section through a side and anend wall joining` it showing the construction at the corner, an opening for a door bcing shown in the side wall; Fig. 5 shows the construction at cross walls; Fig. 6 shows.

two parallel walls connected by a cross wall which ties the parallel walls together; one ot the parallel Walls is shown as a double wall; Figs. Tand 8 show my invention applied to various double walls; Fig. 9 shows al ldouble wall constructed by my method; Fig. 10 is an end elevation of standards and u forms for aheavy wall such as required for dams; Figs. 11, 12, and 13 Vare modified crosss`ections ofstandards; Figs.- 14 and 15 are cross-sectionso pillarsy made according to my method.

Referring l. to the drawings,` and 'for the present to Figures 1 to 5 inclusive, A represents a plurality of standards, inthe present case of I-beam shape, .set suitable .distances apart in a concrete foundation F laid in the usual manner. The I-beam standards A are of a width over the flanges to correspond with' the thickness -ot they wall to be erected, andare lined up on the line of the proposedv wall so that the flanges a', a will extend lin the direction ot the wall. The standards are connected by reinforcing rods 1`v which are shown as passing through the webs vof the standards,lalthough they may be bolted between two adjacent standards, or 'otherwisedisposed', and if desired vertical reinforcing rods`2 may also be arranged between and in yline with the` standards.

In constructing a corner of a wall (Fig. l1)'v standards of angle iron shape maybe used, that von the outside identified by the numeral 5 being larger'than that on the inside lettered 6. In Fig. 5 I show a partitionV4 wall 7 abutting a main wall 8, the

standard A of the main wall having channel -iron standards 9, 9 of the partition wall securedwtor it in some suitable manner. In

' any case, it will be observed, thestandards become a unitary-.part of the wall.

In forming i wall openings O forv doors "orf windows, channel iron standards 19, 10 may be used (Fig. 4) with the iianges turned in so as to present a smooth 'face for door and window trames.

Of course, while I show certain structural shapes for a given purpose, these shapes are not invariable, as anyshapes or combination o1 shapes maybe used that will give the desired result.

In Fig. t' I show two side walls 8, 8, connected by an end wall 11 which has a tie rod 12 extending through it and anchored in the side walls. rIhe side wall 8 has a row ot studding 13, 18, etc.oni theinside to receive lathing 1a for plaster. A double wall with an air space 15 is thus provided.

In Figs. 7 and 8 Ishow various hollow walls made according to my improved method; Fig. 7 showing a series othollow'tile 16 imbedded into the concrete iilling 17, and Fig. 8 showing a row of st-udding 18y hetween the standards A coveredwith lath 19y said studding and lath being embedded in 1 Figures 11 and 12 Showstandards that .are l built up. The former consists of two'nietah lic plates 25, 25, clampingl between them boards or 'timbers 26, 26, the bolt27serving. to hold them inassembledV relation', while the latter consists of three I-beams 28, 28,

28, bolted together to make a heavy standard. Fig. 13 `also shows a standard v into I-beain shape by assembling a T 29,

a plate 30, and twolangle bars. This ar-- made rangement is useful when it is desired tow" lill in between the standards withgrn'onolithic slabs or blocks, avoiding hoistingthem to the top ont the standards. rllhey Vcan be' placed between the standards horizontally and the `plate afterwardv bolted orrrivetcd to the angle bars.

Figs. 14- and 15 show compositecolumns"v made by myinethod. In thev "former, two channels`32, 32 are bolted in spaced relation and then boxed by -a. suitable form (not shown) which is filled with concrete so that the channels will be imbedded..` IVhenl the channels do not have to be imbedded in the ccncrete, as shown in Fig. 15, tour/channelsv 33 are bolted together in'spacedrelation,v

one on a side, reinforcing rods 3a being 4arranged between them, and the concrete then poured into the iorm (not shown) o'fwhich the channels form a part. The composite columns may alsobe made ot' brick, concrete blocks, orzother material, building them in position, placing therein during construc- CII tion the standard attaching bolts to which the standards are afterward attached, or placing tubes therein through which the rods or bolts, or both, can be passed.'

Structures or walls of a round orl curved form can also be built, also standards curved to the form or arc of the circle desired can be used, as well as poly-angular walls built, and the method can also be applied to iioors and roofs. v

For small structures rei-'enforced crosswalls are not necessarily required. `In such cases cross-walls may be built of wood studning or other material, and the longitudinal walls can be tied across at.v the floor. or ceiling plan-es by steel beams or tie rods. Also, it is not necessary that standards be erected at the openings in the walls, or in the walls where cross-walls meet, as they may be omitted where economy requires and the type ofthe structure permits, but it is the better practice to use the standards at not less distances than is required for convenient lengths of mold boards, and still better at no greater distances apart than will provide contraction or expansion cracks or joints for the mass of molded material, the obviation of contraction cracks in a wall by this method being one of its advantages.

When the foundation or footing is under construction, additional re-enforcement can be provided by inserting rods therein to eX- tend upwardly in the wall. Also, additional reenforcementin the form of iron rods, bars, lathing and theI like can be inserted or embedded in the concrete between the standards.

lValls' thicker than the cross-section of the standards can be built by -placing thin removable wooden or other vertical studding against either or both sides of the standards, or butts on the mold boards to hold them the desired distance from the metal standards.

Light steel standards may also be used in many cases made of light sheet steel pressed to shape or pressed and riveted together to form standards of the desired shape. Such light steel shapes are sometimes called steel lumber.

ln all cases referred to, except in case of ll it will be seen that the standards provide metal flanges, lugs, or faces, to

which the mold boards may readily be clamped or held.

ln some cases, particularly of one-story buildings or structures low in height, no horizontal or longitudinal rods or rigid reg inforcement for tying the standards together would be required between floor levels, so that the longitudinal reinforcement could be provided by tie rods at or in the region of the floor level or levels. The aggregation of several tie rods in the region of a. floor level, when filled with cement would act as a compound reinforced concrete beam.

rlhe method of erection may be carried out as follows: Standards substantially as described are set up in their proper positions and held in position temporarily by means of braces or stays, or in any other suitable manner. rl`he rods are inserted through the standards and fastened by means of the heads on the ends of the tie rods and the threaded ends of same and nuts to match. lV hen the frame has been erected the form for the foundation is placed and the concrete poured in the, form. W' hen the form has been filled to the proper height, and the concrete has set sufficiently, theV temporary stays, or part of them, may be removed. The mold boards can then be applied to the standards, the concrete lilled in, and the wall rapidly completed.

Or, without departing in principle from my method, the foundation may be molded first, with suitable holes in the same where the standards are to be positioned, to re* ceive the standards. When the foundation is set and sufficiently strong, the standards are set in the holes, and also, if necessary, held to position by temporary stays or braces. The standards are then cemented solidly in the foundation, and the tie rods inserted and fastened. The mold boards are then applied to the standards, the concrete filled in, and the wall completed. n

In either case any additional tie rods or re-enforcement is added as the work progresses. For high buildings or dams or the like, after the lower tier is under way the next higher tier can be constructed by bolting or riveting the extensions of the standards to the lower standards, tying them together with the rods as before and proceeding with the application of the mold boards and filling in with concrete, and so on tier upon tier until the full height has been reached.

As soon as the concrete at any position lower down has set sufficiently the mold boards can be removed and used higher up; In this `manner dams and walls ofgreat height can be built with little material for forms and without studding, and, due to the combination of structural steel and tie rods in conjunction with the concrete, with less mass of material in the dam or wall, or total Cost, yet of greater strength.

The term metal standard is to be understood .in the sense of a principal member or members of a structure, usually structural steel and to act as a column, pier, or pillar, and is intended to be used where desirable in lengt-hs not less than one-story in height, and if applicable, in lengths of two or more stories in height, thus obviating the use of many short sections or lengths, and thereby lavoiding structural weakness, as well as difficulty and extensive labor iny bolting or connecting numerous small metal frames or composite slabs together. The tie rods need not be 'round but may be deformed to provide a better grip on the concrete, except that at their ends wher-e threads are required for the nuts they-are rounded for the pur-A pose.

It is understood that I need not confine myself to the exact details in every case, but the same may be modified according to circumstances7 and the wall may be adapted to many conditions not mentioned or described, of all of which I wish to avail myself. l

I-Iaving described my invention, I claiml. A wall provided with a suitable footing, a series of metal standards in spaced relation longitudinally of the wall, said standard having fianges extending in the direction of the wall erected on said footing7 tie rods extending longitudinally between the standards, and a mass of concrete or equivalent materialbetween the standards and ex tending between the flanges thereof.

A 2. A wall comprising a plurality of' perl pendicular structural steel standards spaced longitudinally of the wall, and having flanges extending in the direction of the wall, tie rods connecting said standards, and

vertical tie rods transverse to the first men tioned tie rods, and a mass of concrete between the standards embedding the tie rodsl 

